1. Mesopotamia: a Cradle of Civilization
Land between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History – Mesopotamia
(Sept. 14, 2010)

2. Age/Era Old Stone New Stone Copper – 5000 BCE (before common era)
Bronze – 3000 BCE
Iron – 1200 B
Sumer was the first city-state to rise to prominence in the region around 3500 BCE. CE

3. Inventions Codified law Mud-brick temples Writing Wheel Pulley
Irrigation
360 circle
60-minute hour
60-second minute
Zodiac
Calendar

4. Geography
Would you expect life in Mesopotamia to be easy or hard given all their inventions?
Which geographical factors would encourage a civilization to take root?

5. Farming
How did they successfully grow crops like barley without a lot of rain and limited water?
Canals and irrigation ditches
Water level controlled by regulators
Farmers could only use an allotted amount of water (regulator turned on)
Ibid.

6. Multiple Gods = polytheistic
“Gods control the world, are responsible for things in the world, including nature, and most acts that take place in daily life.”
They protect cities.
They live in temples.
Priests take care of Gods (rituals).
Ordinary people make offerings to Gods.
metal and stone objects, plaques, stone figures
Ibid.

7. Gods
Ea (Enki)
Human-headed bull from Sargon II’s tomb
Ishtar

8. Offerings
Metal object
Plaque
Stone figure

9. Special Privileges Carved stone figures represented elite worshippers
Taken to temples instead of actually being there
Male and female figures
Male worshipper
Metropolitan Museum of Art – Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (Sept. 14, 2010).
Ibid.

10. Ziggurats Temples on platforms. Usually mud brick.
They were seen as the homes of Gods.
Higher than humans (stairways)
Related to mountains – important in their mythology so maybe the temples had to be high for the Gods to see the mountains?
Chief God of a city had a temple dedicated to it.
Ibid.

11. Ziggurat
Ibid.

12. Astronomy
Babylonian scribes observed and recorded the movement of stars and planets.
Advised king on how these movements would affect the calendar.
Calendar used for dating festivals and collecting loans and taxes.
Needed to observe stars to know when to add extra month.
Scribes advised king of how omens (signs) could predict future events.
Ibid.

13. Babylonian Calendar Lists 12 months and good days
The Schoyen Collection – Calendars and Almanacs. N.d.
(Sept. 14, 2010).

14. Pictograms The British Museum – Mesopotamia. N.d.
(Sept. 9, 2008).

15. Cuneiform
A script used to write different languages, such as Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, etc.
Ibid.

16. Scribes
Reed stylus
Ibid.
Scribe

17. Historical Thinking Concept = Significance
An event, person or innovation is significant if it results in change that:
has deep consequences
affects many people
has influence over a long period of time